


Misplaced Youth

by TaganWritesStuff



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Gen, I just don't have a name for said au, I'd put tags for all the Pokemon that would appear too, Warning: OC that is story relavant, but that would be too many tags, obviously this is an au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-17
Updated: 2018-12-07
Packaged: 2019-08-24 16:56:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16644119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TaganWritesStuff/pseuds/TaganWritesStuff
Summary: After an incident with the Adamant Orb leaves him with an unusual affliction, Brandon must temporarily leave his post as Pyramid King to fix the problem. But with only his estranged family and the staff back at the Battle Pyramid to help him, can he regain what's been lost?





	1. Like Unwinding a Clock

“Hey Brandon, I’ve got some good news. The crew over at the Ruins of Alph say- oh, sorry.”

The Pyramid King looked up from his work to look back at his assistant, peeking his head into his office. “No, it’s fine. I’m almost done anyway. What did they say?”

“They gave us the confirmation that we can investigate over there,” Samuel continued. “As long as we don’t park on the ruins themselves anyway… You’re still working on the orb? I thought you said you had finished your notes on it yesterday.”

The two men glanced back at what Brandon had been working with for the past week when he wasn’t being bombarded with trainers after the Brave Symbol; the Adamant Orb. It had taken a lot of convincing just to get the caretakers in Sinnoh to send it across the world, and even more paperwork. It really didn’t surprise Brandon, considering that this orb was such a big part of Sinnoh’s history, but after all that work, he finally had the honor of looking over the Adamant Orb, even if it was just for a short time.

“I did, I just wanted to make sure we haven’t scratched it.” Brandon explained. “I’m not sure anyone will ever have the chance to look over this orb again if we have…”

“Wow… those museum workers sure are protective over it aren’t they?” Samuel asked, coming a bit closer to get a good look at it. He hadn’t come into Brandon’s office to look at it before since he was busy making sure the Battle Pyramid was still able to fly at a moments’ notice and refereeing. But now that he got a good look at it… “Kinda looks like a soccer ball I used to play with as a kid.”

After realizing that came out of his mouth, the referee started to panic. “Not that I would kick it mind you! It’s a priceless artifact that I know is very very important to you! And Sinnoh! Especially Sinnoh, although I guess that counts you too since you’re from Sinnoh… But what I’m trying to say- “

“Sam, your fine.” Brandon said, an almost playful smirk on his face. “To be honest, I was thinking the same thing as I was looking it over. Just don’t tell the staff that when we send it back.”

“Of course.” he said, starting to make his way out of the room with a slight blush on his face. At least it was just Brandon he embarrassed himself in front of… “I’ll get preparations ready for our trip to the Ruins of Alph. Is tomorrow a good day for lift off, Brandon?”

“Yep, by then I’ll have the Adamant Orb shipped off back to Eterna City.” the Pyramid King confirmed, turning his attention back on said orb. He held it in his hands, going over it one last time for any scratches that any tools may have left in it. Last thing he needed was angry calls from a museum claiming he didn’t take care of it properly… 

After a few moments, Brandon thought he heard someone muttering. He turned his attention back towards Samuel, who was about to leave the room. “Sam, did you say something?”

“No? Why do you-“ the referee didn’t have enough time to finish his sentence, as the Adamant Orb erupted with a blinding white light. It was practically burning Brandon’s hands, so much that he had to put it down. It took a minute, but the glow finally faded from the orb… although the burning feeling in Brandon’s palms weren’t going away anytime soon.

“Wha… What was that?!” Samuel asked, concerned over what just transpired.

“I’m… not sure.” Brandon admitted. Was it just him, or was that burning feeling in his hands spreading up his arms? He’d have to check for any injuries later or see a doctor… hopefully not the latter. “It’s never done that before… did something change?”

“Do you think I should call the Eterna Historical Museum to ask for an extended deadline?” Samuel asked.

“No… no, they were practically resilient on keeping the thing in Sinnoh. We’ll just mention this to them in a note or something…” Brandon said. Now he knew for sure the burning was spreading, he could practically feel something lighting up in his chest and going to his head… 

Samuel must have noticed something was off with his boss, as he asked, “Brandon? Are you feeling okay? You don’t look so great suddenly…”

“Honestly Sam… I… I…” his words escaped him as he started to feel incredibly dizzy. When did he get sick? He hadn’t felt a cold coming on earlier… 

Brandon didn’t get any more time to think of any possibilities as to what went wrong with him, as his vision started to go fuzzy and he felt himself falling back. He felt his assistant catch him as he started to black out…

~~~  
It had been almost two days now since Samuel had called him, almost in near hysterics. While Scott couldn’t say he’d be doing the same thing if Brandon just passed out of nowhere, he had to say Sam took it a lot better than he was expecting from the referee. Still, he was glad that Samuel took his suggestion to get Brandon to the nearest hospital, considering the last time the man overworked himself was went he went hunting for Registeel, which was not all that long ago. Scott wouldn’t have been surprised if Brandon’s immune system was still out of whack because of that whole adventure… That was one of the reasons he was driving towards Poko Town near Fennel Valley. If Brandon was going to be out sick for a while, it was best that he checked the situation out to see how long it would be. Because if it was just a flu, it wasn’t that big a deal… but if it was something bigger… Scott would rather not think about that. Instead he was going to focus on getting there as fast as possible… much to the ongoing fear from the other people in the car.

“AIIIEEEEEE! SCOTT, SLOW DOWN! YOUR GOING TO KILL US ALL!” Tucker yelled, doing his best to keep his hair from blowing in the wind.

Scott mentioned going to check out Brandon’s situation in their latest conference call, when everyone noticed that the Pyramid King was missing for once. A few of the Frontier Brains had volunteered to go with him, Tucker saying he ‘finally had to chance to rub Brandon’s unhealthy workaholic nature in his face’. Anabel phrased it less rudely, genuinely concerned for the man’s health. As for Noland… well, he was coming along to make sure Samuel hadn’t paced a hole in the hospital lobby. 

“Ah calm down Tuck. I thought you’d like having the wind in your hair.” Scott playfully teased as he swerved around a rock in the road. Man, he’d really have to see about someone clearing out these paths…

“Not when it means being in a traffic accident!” the Dome Ace yelled from the backseat, practically holding onto Anabel for dear life, who was doing the same back.

“Seriously Scott, slow down! You’ve got to be wasting so much gas getting to the hospital, you won’t be able to get us back to the Battle Tower!” Noland said, gripping the door handle as Scott steered past another bump in the road. He may have been the speed demon of the Frontier Brains… but even he couldn’t handle Scott’s reckless driving!

“Nah, I got extra gas in the trunk, we’ll be fine!” Scott assured, smiling more as he saw the bits of Poko Town in the distance. “Now hold on folks, we’ll be there in a jiffy!”

“Scott… Scott don’t you dare!” Anabel yelled, true genuine fear in her eyes. “I’m too young to die! I haven’t even had my first kiss yet!”

It all went on deaf ears as Scott pressed the gas pedal even further and the car speed up to ungodly levels. Any Pokémon on the side of the road would have briefly heard the terrified screams of three of the most powerful trainers in Kanto has they were speeding off to the nearest patch of civilization… unaware of the shocking turn of events that awaited them.

~~~  
After Scott breaking so many laws once they hit town, they finally came to a stop in front of a hospital. As Scott got out and started walking towards the entrance of the pristine white building, the three Frontier Brains huddled together.

“Alright, here’s the plan.” Anabel said. “After we see how Brandon’s doing, we all decline Scott’s offer to drive us back as politely as we can, and we all hitch a ride on Tucker’s Salamence to get us all back to our facilities safely, but most importantly, alive.” 

“Now that’s a plan I can second.” Tucker nodded, fixing his hair after the onslaught of wind it went through. “As much as Salamence loves his beauty sleep like moi, I know he’ll get us home.”

“Can’t say no to flying.” Noland agreed. “I’ll definitely take flying over… what we just went through.” 

Once the plan was settled, the three got out of Scott’s car and followed their boss into the hospital. The hospital lobby was filled with worried people and Pokémon. They could spot a few nurses, doctors and Chansey assistants going about their rounds in the further off hallways. Thankfully, they wouldn’t have to look for Scott for long, since they found him speaking to Samuel who was not that far away. The poor assistant looked like a wreck, with bags under his eyes and his hair a mess.

“-and no one has given me a clear answer on what’s going on!” they heard him tell Scott. “I haven’t called anyone yet, since they’d both prod me for information about Brandon’s condition that I don’t have!”

“Hmm… that is a pickle.” Scott said, looking concerned. “I’ll go talk with the doctors and see if I can pull some strings to figure out what’s going on around here.” And with that, Scott walked off to speak with the nurse at the front desk.

“Uh, Sam, I don’t think I heard you correctly, but you just say that you don’t know what’s wrong with Brandon?” Noland asked as they approached. Samuel practically jumped out of his skin as he realized the three Frontier Brains had arrived. 

“Y-Yeah…” he nodded, looking solemn. “At first they thought he overworked himself like I did, but the doctors couldn’t find any signs of that… And after he still hadn’t wakened up, they ran a bunch of tests, but they still couldn’t find anything… I eventually had to go home to take care of Brandon’s Pokémon… and when I came back they wouldn’t let me see him!”

“Dang, that bad huh?” Tucker asked, concern creeping into his face. This wasn’t just a case of Brandon overworking himself again… this sounded serious.

“Okay… let’s all calm down a bit.” Anabel said, looking more so at Samuel than everyone else. “I know this must be a stressful time for you Sam, but we don’t need the other half of the Battle Pyramid staff in the hospital too.”

“Other half?” Samuel said, momentarily puzzled. “Oh that’s right, you weren’t in charge of the Battle Tower when-“ 

“Good news guys! I managed to convince the staff to let us visit Brandon’s room.” Scott interrupted as he walked back with a nurse by his side. The previous conversation was forgotten as Samuel looked hopeful for the first time since they arrived.

“Oh, thank goodness!” he exclaimed. “That means he’s fine right? That means I don’t have to call anyone with bad news!”

The nurse shook her head, still looking a bit nervous about the whole situation. “Actually sir, it’s a bit more… complicated than that.”

The three Frontier Brains took note of the young lady. Anabel noticed she seemed really shaken up… If it was because of Scott pulling strings or Brandon’s condition, they didn’t know. “Ah, yes, and you are mam?”

“You can call me Laila…” she said, motioning for the group to follow her. As they went into an elevator, Laila hit the button for the third floor and continued, “I must apologize for keeping you in the dark for so long Samuel. The truth is, the staff have no idea what’s happening to Brandon. He’s hasn’t woken up yet, but he’s not in ill health or anything like that… but… well, I think it’s better for you to see for yourself.”

The group looked at each other in silence as Laila lead them out of the elevator and down the hall. The sound of machines beeping and faculty rushing back and forth down the hall filled their ears as they speculated. So, was Brandon comatose? But if that was the case, why the secrecy? Laila said he wasn’t sick, so what was wrong? 

It wasn’t long until the group was in front of a hospital room, all dark with only a nearby lamp and lights from a few machines illuminating the room. A curtain was the only thing separating them from Brandon’s bed. Laila opened the door for them as they stepped inside.

“Now, I know it might come as a shock to you, trust me, as soon as we realized what was happening I was too.” she explained. “But trust me, this is Pyramid King Brandon.”

Anabel had to hold back a surprised yelp at the sight. While Noland and Scott seemed too shocked to make a sound, Samuel and Tucker gave a loud enough “Huh?!” for all of them.

Lying unconscious in a hospital bed, was a young man no older than eighteen at best. Even with the younger face and hair messed up from over twenty-four hours of being confined in a hospital bed, they knew that Laila wasn’t pulling their leg, and this was indeed Brandon. Although Tucker seemed to have gone into denial.

“No, that can’t be him.” he said, still not taking his eyes off the boy. “He’s not nearly old enough to be Brandon…”

“Yeah, but why would they put his jacket in a stranger’s room?” Scott said, pointing out the familiar green, orange collared jacket on a nearby chair.

“We know it’s a little hard to take in…” Laila said as Anabel slowly approached the bed with the young man. “We didn’t want to admit it either. The doctor noticed it at first when he saw that his jacket was a bit bigger on him than it was a few hours ago. And then the changes became more obvious, and we weren’t sure how to explain that Brandon was aging backwards almost…”

“I don’t know, that last statement’s a pretty good start!” Samuel exclaimed.

“But would you have believed us? It’s almost like something out of a science fiction novel!”

As they spoke, Anabel moved Brandon’s jacket onto the back of the chair as she took a seat beside the boy. She wasn’t feeling any pain coming from him, so at least this whole process, as supernatural as it was, wasn’t hurting him. It was hard to pick up anything else from him… so it was possible he wasn’t dreaming. But after some deep concentration and tuning out the rest of the group’s conversation, she felt it.  
She had been having her doubts that this boy was Brandon as well, but there it was. After some digging, she found most of the emotions she usually felt coming from the Pyramid King; seriousness, a need to roam freely, intolerance for foolishness… all very Brandon-like traits. But if this really was Brandon… then what on Earth happened to him?


	2. Apprentice of the Pyramid

“- to inform them of what’s going on with Brandon.” she heard Scott say as she stopped concentrating. “I’ve still got their house number so calling the boys should be no problem, but Sam, you said Mariland’s currently in Violet City right?”

“Yeah… If your worried about her wandering off, it shouldn’t be a problem.” Samuel said, who had taken a seat in the other chair. “She doesn’t leave town until Brandon’s confirmed everything’s fallen through fine.”

Scott nodded and proceeded to leave the room with Laila, who was leading him to where the phones were, but now Anabel was even more confused.

“Wait, who’s Mariland?” Anabel asked.

“Right… I was going to tell you earlier before Scott interrupted.” Samuel said. “It’s not just me and Brandon who run the Battle Pyramid. We’ve got a third member of our little crew who travels to dig sites and ruins beforehand to get permission from the people there before we fly the Battle Pyramid there. That’s her.”

“Ah, I remember her.” Noland said. “She applied for the apprenticeship program like Sergio. Didn’t you and Brandon fight over who got her Tuck?”

“…Yes.” Tucker said, suddenly looking very glum. “Why wouldn’t I want her as an apprentice? She won a Grand Festival before taking on the Battle Frontier! She would have fit in perfectly in the Battle Dome, but no, Brandon had to notice her potential too.”

“In Brandon’s defense… you kind of hyped her up.” Samuel smirked. “You were practically gushing about how well taken care of her Salamence was and how well they preformed during your battle. Why wouldn’t he take notice?”

“Oh! I think I’ve heard about this actually…” Anabel thought. “Is this the battle where your Salamence got taken out in two turns by Regirock?”

Noland and Samuel finally started to smile a bit as Tucker’s face went bright red. “Three! It was three turns! And I would have won that battle if Brandon hadn’t taught Regirock Rock Slide beforehand!”

“Yeah… Anyway, I’m not surprised you’ve never met her.” Samuel told Anabel. “She got the Ability and Brave Symbols a good three months before you became Salon Maiden, and she’s rarely in the Battle Pyramid despite the apprenticeship. Comes with the job she’s doing.”

Anabel nodded, looking back towards the unconscious boy, Brandon, as she said, “Well, if there’s one good thing about this whole thing, is that I finally get a chance to meet her…”

The room got uncomfortably silent as they all remembered why they were here in the first place. Brandon had aged back nearly two decades it looked like and they didn’t know why. Would he keep aging backwards? … Would he stop? The room suddenly felt very heavy as the Frontier Brains realized that Brandon could very well just pop out of existence, just like in those sci-fi novels Laila had been going on about…

“I… I’m going out for a smoke.” Noland said, turning and leaving the room. “Care to join me Sam? Brandon… Brandon will be fine with Anabel and Tucker.”

“Yeah… sounds good.” the assistant nodded as he followed Noland. The other two Frontier Brains knew Samuel wasn’t a tobacco person, but they both knew he needed to get his mind of… this.

Tucker took Samuel’s seat beside Brandon’s bedside and took another look at the young man. “So… I know you were trying to do that empath thing with him earlier.” he told Anabel. “Is it really…”

“Yeah… It’s him alright.” she confirmed, and Tucker’s face fell.

“Dang… I was really hoping we were being duped…” he said.

~~~

Scott waited outside the hospital after making the phone calls to Brandon’s family and apprentice. Brandon’s eldest son, Reggie, had taken it just as well as he expected; near panic. He didn’t explain the full situation to Reggie, Laila was right about it being hard to describe aging backwards, but he did say Brandon wasn’t doing so great and was in the hospital. He said he’d get his brother and that they’d be there as soon as possible… But with how far Sinnoh was from Kanto he wasn’t sure when they’d arrive.

Mariland reacted about the same way, only she left immediately after Scott told her where the hospital was. She was who Scott was looking for, as he occasionally looked up at the sky, expecting to see a Flying-type Pokémon making a dive for him with a teenager on its back. But Violet City was a long way away from Poko Town, it was silly to half expect her to show up immediately, but it was better than sitting in that hospital room thinking about Brandon’s fate…

He saw Noland and Samuel come out eventually. Samuel took a seat near him on a nearby bench as Noland stood away from them, lighting a cigarette.

They didn’t say a lot to each other as time ticked by. What they did say had nothing to do with the current situation, just what sports they had been watching, how nice the weather was today… Eventually Tucker came out and switched out with Noland, something about how weird it was to watch Brandon get younger by the hour…

At least with Tucker, there was more small talk to be had… if by small talk, you meant Tucker complaining about how he was spending his precious free time at a hospital instead of getting his hair done, or his nails done, or something else trivial. But as annoying as it usually was, Scott and Samuel would take it to the other option…

More time passed and Anabel swapped out with Tucker. According to the Salon Maiden, Laila had come back and made Anabel get out of the hospital for a while as she hadn’t left Brandon’s side since she got there. As sweet as the gesture was, it made the nurse concerned for her health. As she took a seat by Samuel, Anabel did admit that her legs had fallen asleep more times than she could count…

Finally, after nearly seven hours of waiting, of switching between looking for Brandon’s apprentice and looking after the still de-aging Pyramid King, Samuel and Anabel spotted a shape coming towards them from the golden, evening sky. As it approached, Scott was able to tell what is was immediately and for the first time in a while, smiled widely.

“’Bout time she got here!” Scott said as the Salamence came in for a landing in front of them. Thankfully, there was enough space in front of the hospital for the Dragon Pokémon to land and for her trainer to hop off with relative ease.

The first thing Anabel noticed about her is that her style was much different than Samuel and Brandon’s. She looked more like an Ace Trainer than she did someone going out to a dig site, only her outfit was blue unlike the red jackets she saw Ace Trainers have and she was wearing blue jeans in place of shorts. Her long, brunette hair was extremely messy, but then again, she had just been flying bareback on a Salamence. The second thing she noticed was that Mariland seemed to be a little bit older than her. If she had to guess, maybe by one or two years.

Mariland returned her Salamence to her Pokeball and approached Scott with a worried and almost frantic look on her face. “Scott what’s going on?” she asked. “You were pretty vague over the phone, I want a straight answer out of you and I want it now.”

“You haven’t changed at all Ms. Mercer.” Scott said. “Honestly, it’s a bit hard to explain unless you see him yourself…”

She raised an eyebrow at that and turned to Samuel to verify if that was the case. After being met with a nod, she sighed. “Okay I’ll bite… I hope your sense of direction is nothing like your sense of driving Scott.”

“It’s just as sharp my dear! Now follow me.” he said, leading the girl into the hospital. She took a deep breath and followed him, along with Samuel and Anabel.

“Don’t worry, I know Scott’s… nuts behind the wheel, but he’s good at giving directions.” Anabel said, giving the girl a supportive smile. She knew what it must have felt like, thinking everything was fine as usual and getting a call that someone important to you was in the hospital. After all, it just happened to them not twenty-four hours ago…

“Thanks… your Anabel, right?” Mariland asked, looking over at her with a tired smile. Now that they were up close, Anabel could see that Mariland appeared to have eyes just as blue as her jacket. “Brandon’s told me a lot about you… he apparently thinks your much better than the last head of the Battle Tower…”

“Really?”

“Yeah, although I thought that Will was pretty tough… But he may have been talking personality wise, in which case I can kinda see.” she continued.

“That might be it…” she said. “He always did say that he couldn’t stand the last guy, but he never said why…”

Mariland gave a true, genuine smile at that for a moment, before becoming solemn again. “I really do hope he’s okay…”

“Me too…”

~~~

Like the rest of them, Mariland was shocked to see Brandon’s current situation. But unlike when they arrived, Brandon was around Samuel’s age. Now, Brandon didn’t look any older than ten… Laila was readjusting his IV drip for what seemed like the 3rd time since they had all arrived as Mariland took a seat by his side.

“You guys go get something to eat or something…” Samuel told the other three Frontier Brains in the room. “I’ll stay up here with them…”

“But we just got back up here!” Anabel protested.

“And I don’t think I’ve seen any of you eat since you’ve got here.” Samuel pointed out. “Brandon’s not going anywhere, and if anything else happens I’ll come down and get you.”

“Well… he’s right…” Scott admitted, although he didn’t seem happy about it. “Other than snacks from vending machines, we’ve been running on nothing.”

“I can take you down to the cafeteria.” Laila offered. “Now that his IV’s in correctly, I don’t have to hover around here…”

As much as they didn’t want to leave Brandon’s side, even Anabel had to admit that if the Pyramid King were awake, he’d be chastising them for neglecting their own health (which Tucker then pointed out would be hypocritical of him… which then made it all the more true). The Frontier Brains and owner accepted Laila’s offer and left, leaving Mariland, Samuel, and an unconscious Brandon alone together.  

The two sat in silence for a minute before Mariland asked, “Sam, you were there when this happened right? What happened before he became… this?”

“He was doing some last-minute work on an artifact, I think it might have activated, and he passed out.” Samuel explained, taking the young Brandon’s hand and holding it in his own. He looked so small in that bed… It just didn’t feel right…

Mariland’s eyes widened in fear for a moment, as if Samuel had just threatened her life or something. “What was the artifact?” she asked.

“Relax, it’s not the one your thinking of.” he said. “It’s actually one you should know about, considering your from Sinnoh… It was the Adamant Orb…”

“… Adamant Orb… I’ve definitely heard of that before…” she thought, putting her backpack in her lap for the moment so she could dig through it. She knew she put that book somewhere in here… Unless she lended it to her brother or something…

As Mariland searched for it, Samuel felt Brandon’s hand tighten around his and turned his attention back to the boy. He was still out like a light… but this was more of a response from him than they had gotten in the past seven hours. While he wasn’t sure if his boss was out of the woods yet, some part of him knew that Brandon was going to survive this…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I originally based Mariland's design off of that mystery girl in the original opening (Pikachu ran between her legs in that one), but over the years, I guess you can say she 'evolved'. Now instead of a lass she's an ace trainer... and working in the Battle Frontier. Hopefully you've enjoyed her in this chapter... because she's a main stay in this story and we've still got some things to learn about her. 
> 
> Speaking of things that helped me make Mariland; in this chapter Noland mentions a minor character that appeared alongside him in the anime named Sergio. I always thought it was cool that Sergio was an apprentice specifically and not just some random staff member at the Battle Factory and that got me thinking 'Huh, I wonder if other Frontier Brains have apprentices too' and things went from there.


	3. A Strange Affliction

As he was starting to come to, Brandon felt like he was hit by a bus. His entire body felt sore and he had one of the worst migraines of his life… But he was just in his office examining the Adamant Orb… Why was he in so much pain now? And… was that a heart monitor he heard beeping? Samuel must have panicked and taken him to a hospital…

And why wouldn’t he? Brandon fainted and was dead to the world for who knows how long. He might have done the same thing in his assistant’s shoes… Speaking of his assistant, he could hear the young man’s voice close by.

“Find anything yet?” Samuel asked someone in the room.

“No, not yet.” he heard the familiar voice of his apprentice say. No one would have called Mariland if he had worked himself sick or had a common cold… Was his condition that serious? “It’s been a while since I’ve looked through this book. I don’t remember where all the legends are exactly…”

“Darn…” Samuel said, and Brandon felt a large hand tighten on his own… Samuel’s hands weren’t that big… Curiosity was getting the better of him, and with a groan he started to open his eyes.

Even the light from the overhead lamp seemed too harsh and only added to the migraine. After his eyes started to adjust, Brandon saw the familiar scene of a hospital room, and the equally worried and relieved faces of his assistant and apprentice.

“Hey, welcome back to the land of the waking, old-timer.” Mariland told him, looking up from a brown, leather bound book.

“We thought you weren’t gonna wake up for a minute there…” Samuel said, and Brandon noticed that he looked terrible. Dark bags under his eyes and his hair looked messy and unkept, not to mention missing his usual bandana… While he was touched the young man would stay with him through who knew how many hours, but he was going to force him to take a nap later, even if he had to bully him into one like he had to do his kids.

“What happened?” he asked, noticing immediately his voice sounded… off. Mariland and Samuel must have noticed the confusion on his face, as the two gave each other a nervous look.

“Maybe it’s best we just show you…” she said. “Hey Sam, got a mirror on you? I don’t exactly carry around a compact anymore…”

“No… but maybe my PokeGear will do?” he responded, letting go of Brandon’s hand to pull the device out of his pocket. That’s when Brandon noticed that it wasn’t that Samuel grew… it was that he shrunk. He stared in shock and horror at the small, hairless arm in front of him… his arm. But that was impossible…

“It’ll do.” Brandon said quickly, taking the device from the young man and looking at his reflection on the dark screen. He almost dropped the PokeGear in his lap at the sight of a face that he hadn’t had in almost three decades. It seemed impossible, yet here it was literally staring him in the face… He’d been turned into a child…

What he said next mirrored his thoughts perfectly, “How?”

“I’m thinking that… this, has something to do with the Adamant Orb you were studying.” Mariland explained. “I remember something about the orb having something to do with one of Sinnoh’s legendary Pokémon… I just can’t remember the na-“

“Dialga.” Brandon finished for her, finally tearing his eyes off his… youthful reflection. “Your talking about the Temporal Pokémon, Dialga.”

“Yeah! That’s it!” she said, turning the pages in her book until she hit the chapter she wanted. “Here it is! ‘Dialga, the being said to control and bend time to it’s will. Born in the beginning of the-‘okay skipping that bit, everyone and their grandma remembers that bit… ‘Dimension separate from this one’… ‘counterpart to Palkia’… Bingo! ‘Many theories have been made about the Adamant Orb. Some think that it was made by Dialga itself, infused with a bit of it's power if humans ever needed to call upon it in a time of need, while others believe humans made the orb in worship of the Temporal Pokémon.’”

“Well I certainly know which theory I’m guessing was right…” Brandon mentioned, trying hard to ignore how his voice had lost most of its baritone. He couldn’t have been old enough to have gone through puberty yet… Hell, he was young enough his own button-up shirt had practically become a nightgown!

“Yeah, if your any indication to go by.” Mariland agreed.

“Speaking of which, I did promise the other Frontier Brains to inform them of your condition if anything changed.” Samuel said, standing up. He didn’t have a lot to add to this conversation anyway… he wasn’t from Sinnoh, so he wasn’t as well versed in the history and myths of it as Brandon and Mariland were. Now if they wanted to know about Johto myths, maybe this would have been a different story. “And since you waking up is a pretty big change…”

“… who came?” Brandon asked, his face suddenly turning very serious. Did all his coworkers know of his rather humiliating situation? Being the strongest and unofficial head of the Frontier Brains, Brandon took his position very seriously. If the rest of the Frontier Brains already knew about this… he was never going to hear the end of this.

“Scott, obviously.” Samuel told him. “Anabel came, so did Noland… as well as Tucker.”

Brandon winced at that last name. Anabel was fine, she was a sweet girl with a good head on her shoulders, not one to hold things like… this over his head. Noland would probably tease him about this for a month before dropping it for good, either on his own or because Brandon got a good punch in on him. But Tucker… as excellent a strategist as he was, he was a diva first and that man knew how to hold a grudge. He was still bitter about Brandon beating him and getting the forms for Mariland’s apprenticeship, so it was very likely Tucker was going to be talking about this for a long time…

“Well, you better tell them.” he told his assistant. “I imagine they’ve been worried…”

Samuel nodded, and it didn’t take long until the de-aged Pyramid King had only his apprentice by his side.

“Mariland? Can I see that book?” he asked. One part of him wanted to get acquainted with any knowledge of Dialga he might have forgotten over the years… while another wanted to distract himself from this entire situation. He had seen some weird things in his life, but this? This was a new one…

“Sure, just don’t move any bookmarks I put in there.” she said, handing over the book to him. As he was looking through the chapter, he thought of something else that he would have to do before Samuel came back with the other Frontier Brains. After a few moments, he sighed and turned back to his apprentice.

“Mariland, one more thing I need…” Brandon told her. “Can… Can you find my belt?”

“Yeah, hopefully your nurse put it with everything else. Why do you need-” she started to ask, but after digging out the pants that no longer fit him from under his bedsheets, she quickly put two and two together. “… Definitely didn’t need that image in my head, but I’m on it…”

~~~

While it was impossible to even get his pants to fit on his current body, at least his boxers were able to fit like make-shift shorts to save Brandon’s dignity. By the time the other Frontier Brains had made it back to the hospital room with Scott in tow, the young Pyramid King had already gone over the Pokémon involved in the Creation mythos and was currently reading over the legends of Snowpoint City. It wasn’t just legendary Pokémon the book detailed, but also local legends, like a supposed ‘snow bride’ haunting Route 217. He was about to turn the page to learn more about something he might investigate once he was an adult again, something called ‘Regigigas’, when he was suddenly enveloped in a hug.

“Thank the heavens, you actually woke up!” Tucker cried, practically burying Brandon in his arms.

“Wha- Tucker! Get off me!” Brandon yelled, trying to get out of the Dome Ace’s grasp.

“Well, the voice might be different, but at least the attitude’s the same.” Anabel commented, watching as Brandon eventually wormed his way out of Tucker’s arms.

“Honestly Tucker, I expect that kind of behavior from Samuel or Spenser, not you!” he said.

“Brandon, despite our… grievances, I think I’m allowed to worry about your health when you mysteriously go comatose for nearly 48 hours.” Tucker defended himself.

Brandon was shocked to hear that he had been unconscious for that long. He was thinking he had been out for maybe half a day… but that wouldn’t make any sense on how his coworkers and Scott made it here in that short of time. No wonder Samuel looked like a train wreck…

“Right… sorry.” he said, in a rare moment of humility. Tucker was a bit surprised by the apology, but over the years of working with the Pyramid King, he learned to just treasure the moment as if it were a precious jewel.

It was around this time Brandon noticed that a Chansey in a nurse’s hat had followed the Frontier Brains rolling a trolley. It took a plastic cup off the trolley and handed it off to Mariland and considering he had no idea if Mariland had even eaten anything, it was comforting to know someone else was looking out for the girl… even if that someone was a giant, pink, oval shaped Pokémon.  

Scott took a similar cup and handed it him saying, “Your nurse says that you can try eating, but that you should probably stick to liquids until they know for sure that you’re fine.”

“Thanks Scott…” he said, inspecting the contents of the cup. It was some kind of vegetable-based soup based on the smell but judging by Scott’s comment the staff probably took out the chunks of whatever that vegetable was… maybe carrot judging by the color.

“So… any ideas as to why you’re suddenly going on eleven?” Noland asked, after making sure that Mariland had at least gotten a few spoonful’s of the hospital’s idea of soup.

“Yes, actually…” Brandon nodded. As he took small sips of the soup (definitely carrot… with a hint of beet? For some reason Brandon wanted to gag, even though he usually didn’t mind the earthy flavor.) he explained how he had gotten his hands on the Adamant Orb, what happened in his office, and the section that Mariland found which may have explained the previous event. By the time he was finished, his coworkers looked shocked and in Samuel’s case horrified.

“I didn’t even know there was a Pokémon that powerful, much less an item related to it!” Anabel exclaimed. “But… But you can fix it right?”

“Yeah, since you’ve still got the Adamant Orb, you should be able to fix this soon, right?” Noland asked.

“Yes, hopefully the staff back in Eterna City won’t mind me holding onto it for a little longer…” Brandon said. “I’m sure once we explain why no one’s sent it back yet and when they see the… results of what’s happened, they’ll be a little more lenient…”

“Um… sir?” Samuel asked. Now that got Brandon’s attention, as Samuel never referred to him as ‘sir’ or any formality unless things were bad. “About that… while you were out and when I was back at the Battle Pyramid, after doing all of my usual duties I didn’t exactly have a lot to do… so I thought I could make your job a little bit easier when you got back by doing some of the stuff on your list…”

“You didn’t…”

“Yeah… After the hospital staff assured me you were safe, I went back and packed up the Adamant Orb.” Samuel nodded, in a quiet voice. “I put in a note like you had suggested, to let them know that it glowed… and after I was sure it would survive the trip, I sent it off before I came back here…”

A heavy silence filled the room as the short-lived relief that this problem was an easy fix died. No one knew what to say, not to Samuel who looked regretful, Mariland who looked conflicted, and especially not to the young Pyramid King who was trying hard to keep a neutral face. It was obvious to Anabel that Brandon was trying to keep his shock and anger down, but now he was having trouble doing what he usually did all the time…

“Can… Can I be left alone for a minute?” Brandon asked. It was hard for everyone to agree with his request considering just how small and vulnerable he looked… both words which were not usually used to describe him.

“You got it.” Scott eventually said. Brandon may have been the head Frontier Brain, but at the end of the day Scott was the one to make the final call. If he thought Brandon having some alone time was the best for now, then the other Frontier Brains didn’t have a choice but to obey those wishes. It took a moment to convince the Chansey assistant to leave, but a talk with Anabel was all it took to allow him some privacy. While Mariland and Samuel didn’t work for Scott directly, being Brandon’s boss was enough to get them to get out of their seats.

“I’m… I’m sorry sir…” Samuel said as he left with the rest of the Frontier Brains. The last one to leave was Mariland, who stayed behind for just a moment.

“I know you don’t need me telling you this… but don’t do anything reckless.” she said, before following Samuel.

Brandon wasn’t planning on throwing a fit or anything, so his apprentice could rest assured that he wasn’t going to do something ‘reckless’. No, Brandon just wanted some privacy to get his rampaging emotions in check. He didn’t know why, but hearing that the Adamant Orb, which was the only solution he could think of to fixing this mess, was gone… it hurt a little. It shouldn’t have hurt at all, he was an adult! He could still just call the staff and explain the situation! But then again… he wasn’t technically an adult anymore was he?

~~~

Night had fallen over Jubilife City as Paul headed towards the Pokemon Center. He had just finished training for the day and he was confident in his team’s abilities… other than Chimchar. The Chimp Pokémon had potential, but when it came to actual battling experience he was lacking. Hopefully a bit more pushing and Chimchar would be as effective a battler as Elekid.

He was so caught up in his own thoughts about the weakest link on his team, he didn’t notice the familiar blue van driving towards him. The car horn scared him half to death, but the surprised look on Paul’s face was short lived as he realized who was one behind the wheel.

“Reggie!” the younger brother yelled, any positive feelings of seeing his older brother so far away from home buried by the fury that he pulled a stunt like that on him.

“Paul, do you know just how hard it is to find you?!” the elder brother exclaimed, getting out of the van. Paul could see that Reggie looked very tired, like he had been driving all day from the looks of it. He also didn’t have his usual ponytail, which wasn’t doing him any favors since his unruly hair only added to the tired look. “You only call when you need to transfer team members and I barely get any idea of where you are in Sinnoh! All I had to go by was between Oreburgh and Jubilife!”

While the way his brother looked was slightly concerning, it wasn’t like he hadn’t seen Reggie pull all-nighters before when it came to his job. What was so different about now?

“Reggie, if this is about my habit with phone calls, will it please you if I call every once a week while I’m journeying through Sinnoh?” Paul asked.

“Yes, it would, but that’s not the point right now. Dad’s boss called me yesterday with some… pretty heavy news.”

“What’s the old man gotten himself into now?” It wasn’t that Paul didn’t care about his father… it’s was that Paul didn’t have a lot of positive memories involving the man. He left for Kanto when Paul was just a toddler and by the time he did see Brandon again was when Reggie got demolished trying to get the Brave Symbol…

“The hospital.” Reggie sighed, watching as his brother’s face fell from his usual annoyed look to a concerned one. Obviously, whatever answer he was expecting… it wasn’t that. “Scott was pretty vague, but apparently Dad’s in critical condition. While I wouldn’t leave Sinnoh and the breeding center behind for a lot of things…”

“Getting me and Dad to reconcile before he possibly dies is more important right?”

“Not just that. But to see that he comes out alright and offer support… As much as I’d like to see you get along with Dad, I know I shouldn’t hold my breath and cross my fingers.” he said. “I’m sorry that I’m disrupting the start of your journey like this Paul… But I need you to come with me to see Dad…”

“Fine.” Paul conceded. He knew he wasn’t winning this battle with Reggie, besides some part of him was legitimately worried about Brandon. It wasn’t like the gyms of Sinnoh were going to go anywhere and the League Conference was a long time away.

As he got into the van and his brother explained away how he already had their tickets for the next plane ride for the Kanto region (since there was no way to get to where their father was in such a short amount of time by boat), Paul couldn’t help but wonder how their father was doing so many miles away…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I'm a big fan of the 'Brandon is Paul and Reggie's dad' theory. I'm still surprised to this day the anime didn't go down that route, I mean... Paul looks like if you take a younger version of Brandon and dye him purple! Oh well... at least there's always fan art and fan fiction...  
> Also with the inclusion of the boys at the end of this chapter, hopefully it's clear that this story takes place before the official start of the Diamond and Pearl anime.


	4. Tomorrow is Just Another Day

Thirty minutes had passed since everyone had left the room. Brandon had gotten himself together quite some time ago, but he didn’t mind the extra alone time. It gave him extra time to think about what on Earth he was going to do now that the Adamant Orb was no longer in Kanto. He couldn’t just go after it… he still had his duties as a Frontier Brain! Flying around the Kanto and Johto regions were one thing but going to Sinnoh would be abandoning his post outright!

But… he couldn’t resign himself into losing almost all his life. He was missing scars from previous adventures and he was certain that he had baby teeth again judging by a loose canine that had been fine yesterday… It was like he was never an adult at all…

Oh Arceus were his sons alright? If the Adamant Orb had truly erased his adult years… no, Scott and the other Frontier Brains hadn’t treated him like a random child, but a friend and colleague. If the effect had truly erased the past three, almost four decades of his life, it probably would have erased everything to do with those years, including his position as Pyramid King. Reggie and Paul were fine, he was just getting himself worked up…

So, what was he going to do about this whole ‘turned into a kid’ situation? Greta and Anabel were young and could hold their positions as Frontier Brains, it wasn’t unreasonable he couldn’t do the same. He’d call the Eterna Historical Museum to explain what had happened and hopefully in a few weeks he’d be an adult again.

Brandon was interrupted from his thoughts at the sound of the hospital door opening. He watched as his apprentice made his way back into the room.

“Hey, are you feeling better?” Mariland asked.

“A little bit.” Brandon admitted as she took a seat next to him. “At least being alone for a while has given me some time to think… where did everyone go anyway?”

“Scott thought it would be a good idea for the other Frontier Brains to visit some of the sick kids while we were here,” she explained. “And Samuel headed back to the Battle Pyramid to tell your Pokémon your awake… apparently Regirock’s the one who’s been worried sick or something?”

“Probably second to my starter…” he nodded. “I’ve had it for much longer than Registeel and Regice… Why’d you stick around might I ask?”

“Well, Sam insisted that he could handle your Pokémon just fine, so I decided to stick with the Frontier Brains. I only broke off when we were heading towards the children’s ward… Apparently someone had the grand idea to make the path there through the elder’s ward…”

“Elder’s ward? A bit strange yes… but you don’t have a problem with the elderly. You get along with them better than kids your own age.” he thought. “I mean, other than the possibility of someone passing away as you walk by… oh.”

That’s when the lightbulb went off in his head. Something Mariland had told him nearly a year and a half ago…

_“It’s just something I’ve always been able to do.”_ _she said, handing a Sitrus Berry to the Dusclops. “My Grams thinks it corresponds with my ability to see human ghosts…”_

“Right… strong sixth sense… wait aren’t hospitals supposed to be crawling with ghosts? How’d you even get through the lobby?”

“Believe or not old timer, not all hospitals are infected with the ‘souls of the damned’.” she said, playfully rolling her eyes. “I just stay away from the ER and surgery rooms… and yes, the elder’s ward. Seeing old people who don’t even know their dead yet… it just depresses me.”

“I can imagine… Still, it’s getting late and you should be heading back to the Battle Pyramid soon.” he said. “I don’t want you sleeping in some hotel room when we’ve already got a guest bedroom with your name on it.”

 “Thanks… but you don’t need to keep a room for me. I’m rarely there and I’m not even your kid.” Mariland said, looking a bit embarrassed. After a minute of looking like she might go red in the face, her look became more serious as she said,“Speaking of which, I don’t know if your aware of this… But Scott apparently called your sons?”

That made Brandon’s blood run cold. The boys knew about this situation. He wasn’t surprised to learn that Scott called his family, but he would have preferred if he hadn’t. It was one thing to call the boys (Well… Reggie. Paul had a hidden talent for never being in the room whenever he called.) about whatever Pokémon Reggie was raising or how Paul’s treks through various regions were going, but to inform them that something went wrong while he was working? He could only imagine the shock that Reggie was feeling…

“How much do they know?” he asked.

“I don’t think they know everything… Scott implied he only gave them the basic details like you were hospitalized. That just seems to be his style…”

“Scott’s a wildcard. You never know what he’ll do until he does it.” Brandon said. “Well, this will be an experience.”

“Why’s that?”

“I tend not to tell my kids a lot about the archelogy part of my job, much less all the supernatural stuff that’s been coming along with it recently. Reggie’s… sensitive about it, always afraid that something worse will happen than this whole mess. Paul on the other hand doesn’t really care much about it, he just believes it’s just a bunch of old relics from dead people.”

“In his defense, he’s sort of right.” Mariland said. “… Most of the time.”

“… Yes, but my point is Paul isn’t one to dwell on the past. He isn’t interested in why an ancient civilization isn’t around anymore or their more… ‘magical’ methodology.”

“Are you telling me one of your kids is a skeptic?” Mariland asked, an almost amused look on her face. “And he’s from Sinnoh? A region whose history is loaded with tales of Pokémon whose abilities are practically supernatural?”

“It’s okay, you can laugh.” Brandon assured. “Every person who knows where I’m from does whenever I tell them that.”

“I’m tempted… But I won’t.” she said. “But I think I can see what you mean by this being an experience now.”

\---

It had taken a long time for Reggie to fall asleep. Personally, Paul blamed the children that had previously been screaming their lungs out on the flight. He knew Reggie was worried sick about their father’s health, his elder brother would have been having the same reaction if Paul were the one hospitalized, but that was no reason for Reggie to neglect _his_ health.

Apparently, Reggie had avoided sleep for nearly two days just to make it to Paul’s location. He’d admit his brother’s plan worked and he arrived in Jubalife City from Veilstone City in record time, but it was completely foolish given the circumstances with why he left Veilstone City in the first place! Thankfully, after the child screaming vanished and Paul had unpacked a travel pillow, his brother was out like a light.

Which left Paul alone looking out over the dark ocean waves from far above, with nothing but his thoughts. What was Brandon in the hospital for? He was aware of his father’s history with overworking himself but judging from this ‘Scott’s’ description it wasn’t exhaustion finally catching up with the old man. And unless one of the Regi Trio misaimed an attack, somehow, the reason couldn’t have been because of Pokémon battling.

There was only one final explanation to ‘why’ and considering Reggie’s near frantic behavior, it was the most likely. He had no memory of the incident that had caused Reggie so much grief years ago, Paul was only a baby, but he did know some details. His parents had been looking into some ruins at the time and had found some other location related to it… one-week long investigation and radio silence later, their father had been found bruised and battered with no recollection of anything and their mother had been missing ever since.

If Brandon had been critically injured because of exploring ruins or discovering an artifact that was most likely booby-trapped, Reggie was going to snap. There would be yelling, there would be ugly sobbing, and depending on Reggie’s mood there might be blood. Under any other circumstances it would have been sweet to watch his brother tear his father a new one, but Paul was not looking forward to watching this. As if whatever was ailing his father was bad enough, now, if his theory was proven right, he was going to have a pissed off Reggie at his throat.

Paul was pulled out of his thoughts by fluttering of wings right beside him. Outside of his window was a flock of migrating Pidgeotto heading towards a cityscape in the far distance. The beginnings of orange sunlight broke through the gray waves, making it easier to see the hordes of Tentacool and Tentacruel swimming through the sea even from the plane’s height. A few ships were active at this hour, sailing out of the landmass ahead and towards the sea. It would have been a beautiful sight to anyone else, but not to Paul. It was merely the sign that they had arrived in the Kanto region and that their eventual reunion with their father was approaching fast.

Paul leaned his seat back in some vain attempt to sleep. He wasn’t going to be hypocritical today like his brother and stay awake until he had all the facts. He’d get his sleep where he could until they arrived at the hospital were Brandon had been admitted…

\---

Miles away, it wasn’t just Paul who was having a hard time falling asleep. After visiting hours had ended and she was forced to go back to the Battle Pyramid, Mariland had tried sleeping in the guest bedroom but… something was keeping her awake. She wasn’t sure if it was the absurd amount of questions in her head, shock from earlier catching up with her, or the weird anxious feeling she had, but whatever the reason she was awake around five-thirty in the morning, just in time to watch the sunrise.

She slipped on her jacket and a pair of slippers as she began to make her way outside. She remembered Samuel mentioning once that there was a screen in the control room that let them see outside, but she was far too tired to even try fooling around with it. She made her way to the battlefield, quickly passing through and it wasn’t long until she made it to the exit. However, to Mariland’s surprise, someone else had the same idea.

“Sam?” she asked, a little shocked that the assistant was up this early, especially considering the state he was in yesterday. “I know you’re an early riser and all, but shouldn’t you still be asleep?”

Samuel turned to face her, not being as surprised as her. He had heard her footsteps coming towards him, and with Brandon not there and all the Pokémon in their Poke Balls, it could only have been her. “I tried sleeping… but whenever I tried, my brain always replayed what happened in Brandon’s office and me sending off the Adamant Orb.” he admitted. “If I had just held off for a few more days, we would have been able to fix this…”

“We can still fix this… It’ll just take a bit longer.” Mariland assured. “Yeah it sucks we don’t have the thing that caused it, but Brandon’s mind seems to have been unaffected by this whole… transformation… so I’m sure he’ll think of something. And if he can’t find a solution, then we’ll just have to do some research ourselves and find a way. It’s not hopeless.”

“… You really think so?” he asked.

“Yeah, I’d like to think we’re both pretty smart. We may not be walking encyclopedias like Brandon, but I know that if we work together, we can think of something.”

“You’re being a real optimist today Mercer. Where’s that realism you’re usually spouting?” Samuel playfully said, looking back towards the rising sun. Not a lot of wild Pokémon came around where the Battle Pyramid usually landed, most were too spooked by the sudden appearance of the flying facility, but it looked like a wild Spearow flock was making the most of their time by having an early morning flight.

“Hey, I think realism is a mix of pessimistic and optimistic views. All depends on the situation.” she said back, watching as the orange light began to breathe color back into the landscape. “And our situation isn’t looking so bad right now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took me forever to come up with that chapter title. There was one other title that fit, but I didn't want to use it too early.
> 
> Other than a few details about the characters, this might be the most fillery thing I've written in my own opinion. But yeah, Mariland comes from a family of mediums and there's some tension between the boys and their father when it comes to his job... 
> 
> I'm planning on the next chapter to be a long one, so hopefully I can get the next chapter out sometime before the New Year.


End file.
